Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Lucy starts her sophomore year with a plan—to lose her
virginity to her boyfriend Alex. Alex also starts the year with a plan—to break
up with Lucy. Embarrassed and broken hearted Lucy meets up with three strange
classmates who claim to be able to heal her heart but only if she can get a guy
to fall in love with her and break HIS heart within seven days. At first Lucy
balks at the plan, but then she gets the brilliant idea that she will use the
magic the girls promise her to get Alex to fall in love with her again and hold
on to him for good. Things do not quite work out the way she plans in this
paranormal romance.

Although the backdrop of the book is magical, Lucy learns
some real life lessons as well. She starts the week very naïve and insecure,
but by the end of the seven days she has realized that love does not mean being
someone’s biggest fan and always trying to please him. Lucy becomes a much more
independent and powerful girl. The story starts slow but picks up speed quickly
and the three girls—the sisterhood—are interesting characters. They are much
more mature than Lucy and their lack of parental involvement leads to a lot of
drinking, cursing and late hours. Nothing is out of character and the language
makes sense for the story, but it makes this a definite teen and not tween
book.

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Tuesday, December 06, 2011

“It was his own grandmother who fed Henri-Pierre to the
Cabinet of Earths, long ago when he was only four.” Anne Nesbet’s fantasy novel
instantly hooks readers with this opening line and keeps them engaged
throughout the entire story. Although it opens up with poor Henri’s tale,
thirteen-year-old Maya and her five-year-old brother James take center stage
when they move to Paris and discover the Cabinet of Earths and its sinister
secrets. Henri’s ancestors found a way to merge science and magic and to use
that merger to achieve immortality, but at a terrible cost. Maya has enough on
her plate, dealing with her mother’s cancer, homesickness, and jealousy, but
the Cabinet of Earths chooses her as its next keeper. She must decide between
saving her mother’s life and doing what she knows is right.

Nesbet has written a unique, interesting fantasy with just
enough suspense to keep readers turning the page long into the night. The
language is descriptive and lively; the Cabinet of Earths and the mysterious
Henri-Pierre’s house leap off the pages. Fantasy readers of all ages will enjoy
this story, especially middle school students.

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Fans of Borrowing Abby Grace are in luck... As of December 2011 Amazon has both of the first episodes in the series on sale for just $0.99. Don't miss your chance to get these books at a bargain price.

We first met Abby Grace when she woke up in the back of a van during a kidnapping attempt and discovered she was a shadow--a soul sent into other bodies to solve a crisis. In this second episode, Abby thinks her mission is pretty cut and dry. Her best friend is inconsolable over her breakup with the star quarterback, so clearly she needs to reunite them. It turns out to not be quite as clear-cut as she thought. Abby's (host's) best friend has a pretty big secret and the fact that she's *not* pining for the quarterback is only a small part of it. Abby also helps her host body with an overly aggressive boyfriend.

Girl Steals Guy is just as enjoyable as The Shadow, although the romance aspects might turn off some boy readers. The more we read of Abby--the real Abby underneath her host body--the more we like her and hope that she is able to find her way back to her true self. Kelly Green's writing is sharp and witty. There's just enough information to help Abby (and the reader) solve the mystery without a bunch of boring backstory. The stories truly are episodes--quick reads that we hungrily devour and eagerly look for the next one.
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I'm an Amazon Associate now. If you click on the Amazon links & buy anything I might make a tiny bit of money.

Borrowing Abby Grace had me hooked from the very first line:
"The first thing I realized when I woke up in the back of the van was that I had no idea at all how I'd arrived in the back of the van."

A young girl wakes up (in the back of the van) not knowing who she is or why she is there. She quickly feels the danger of her situation and jumps out of the back of the moving van. She is brought to her home--that she doesn't remember--and the image she sees in her bedroom mirror does not match the image she sees when she looks down at herself.

This exciting new episodic series is reminiscent of Quantum Leap, but not a blatant copycat. In this first episode we learn that Abby is a shadow: people in trouble "borrow" her soul, her essence, her being, so that she can solve their problems. In The Shadow, Abby must help find "her" missing brother and reunite her dysfunctional family. Once she does, she leaves that body and goes on to the next, always hoping the next will be her own body. She's helped by a mysterious boy Will who is only visible to her and can only tell her certain things. She guesses that she (and Will) are dead and ghosts, but Will never confirms this. Okay, so it's pretty close to Quantum Leap for teenagers (without the time travel), but as a big fan of Quantum Leap I didn't feel offended.

The Shadow is an excellent introduction to the series. Kelly Green has written a suspenseful page-turner (or whatever one calls the quick swiping of digital pages). Each episode is short and packed full of action with a strong snarky, yet vulnerable, female lead character. We're interested in the mystery Abby has to solve, but also in *her* mystery. This series is perfect for reluctant readers, particularly those who may not be interested in picking up a hardcover printed book, but will check out anything with technology. Although the main character is a girl, this isn't an overly girlie series, and boys shouldn't be ashamed to read it.

Readers will be eager to continue Abby's adventures and see if she ever makes the final leap home (I couldn't resist).
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I'm an Amazon Associate now. If you click on the Amazon links & buy anything I might make a tiny bit of money.